Local Focus: Dealing to Palmerston North's river rubbish

Palmerston North has a lot of rubbish in its waterways, says Plastic Pollution Challenge project manager Nelson Harper.

"Over the last year, we have pulled out over 120 bags of litter plus some big items like tyres, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, car parts, and all kinds of stuff."

Nelson helped gather volunteers, schools and businesses to pull rubbish and waste out of city streams.

Otherwise, rain would flush the rubbish into the Manawatū River to Foxton and the sea.

Environmentalist Siobhan Karaitiana is also focused on cleaner waterways ahead of 6500 new houses in the proposed Kākātangiata urban growth area.

"Past processes have squeezed our streams up, they are channelised," she said.

"We need to not repeat that mistake into the future".

Stormwater detention areas were being developed before water flowed into wetlands with indigenous plantings to help filter water before it entered the Manawatū River in "a less degraded state".

With Kākātangiata being 860 hectares, 260 hectares will be in green space, including public parks and reserves.

"Treatment train approach is the key point, treating the contaminants firstly, holding the water back in the basins to ensure our houses don't get flooded then finally through the wetlands, scrubbing it so the water quality comes out really high."

Nelson hopes that the community "learn from our previous mistakes" and make local rivers into something beautiful "that we can take pride in".